Khamenei in His Master's Court

In July 2022 Vladimir Putin visited Iran in his first foreign trip since invading Ukraine in February. Since the war broke out Iranian officials and media outlets, up to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself, have unquestioningly backed the Kremlin and repeated Russian state propaganda on the "reasons" for the conflict. Other public figures in Iran, and ordinary citizens, have expressed disgust at this capitulation, saying it reflects Iran's status as a powerless client state of Russia.